


apricity

by froginatinyhat



Category: The Aurora Cycle - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Genre: Aurora burning, Banter, F/M, Gen, I am here to redeem Kal and Kal only, Kal and Auri, Slow Burn, The Unbroken, Unbroken AU, aurora burning spoilers, aurora rising
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25037518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froginatinyhat/pseuds/froginatinyhat
Summary: !SPOILERS FOR AURORA BURNING!Kal is a Paladin of the Unbroken, accomplice to his sister, respected and underestimated equally. His life is not what he wishes, but it is the only one he is able to live thanks to his father. When a mysterious Tank of the Aurora Academy Squad 312 is set to be hunted by the Unbroken, Kal takes the task. He wasn't counting on The Pull getting in the way.(Angst, banter, and unreasonable amounts of tension.)In other words, the Unbroken Kal and Tank Auri AU nobody asked for.IMPORTANT NOTE: I'VE EDITED CHAPTER FOUR AND FIVE FOR PLOT REASONS, basically it was the Zero and not the Opha May, and the drakkan threat is not there. Instead, Kal drops an important little hint about the escape. So PLEASE re read chapter five. Thank you.
Relationships: Kaliis Gilwraeth & Saedii, Kaliis Gilwraeth/Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley
Comments: 16
Kudos: 28





	1. Dear Wormwood

**Author's Note:**

> MAJOR spoilers for Aurora Burning! There will be some mature themes in later chapters, as well as some violence. Child abuse and swearing is also involved, so be careful. It is mainly the same level of maturity as the books but I don't hesitate to get explicit. This first chapter isn't much fun but it establishes some important information about how this AU happened. Please read, kudos, comment and most importantly enjoy. I love activity. :)

Chapter One- 

My heart is pounding in my ears, almost overwhelming. My thoughts feel rushed even to myself, a steady stream of questions.

_‘What happens once we arrive?’_

_‘What if we get caught?’_

_‘What happens to her?’_

_‘What will he do to her?’_

_‘What if she betrays us?’_

_‘What if what if what if’_

My mother tries to calm me.

“I know this is frightening, Kaliis. To leave everything you know,” she finishes looking over the belongings I have packed.

“There is nothing as painful, nor as simple, as doing what is right.” She looks me directly in the eyes as she softly murmurs the well worn phrase. It has never seemed more relevant than now. Her eyes are dark indigo, as kind as they have always been.

I look around my room. The bed is made, sheets pulled taught. The hook that used to hold my beloved siif is empty, the pieces of my instrument lying in some dark hole with the waste of the ship. I have packed away all I need and value. Only some clothes are left behind with the furniture. That is all that will remain of me in this foul place.

Even with my uncertainty, I am grateful for that.

I am unsure. But I am also brave. And I tell her so.

I whisper back to her, “I am not afraid, Mother. I never am.”

“You have courage, something we will both need. But it is only reasonable that you should have fear as well,” she responds.

I can sense her own trepidation, large and almost overwhelming. It is not only for herself. Still, she hands me my bag back so she may switch the bedroom lights off, then soundlessly open my door. The dimmed red lights of the hallway feel too bright in my eyes as I follow her out.

We sneak down the levels of the ship, as careful as we can possibly be as we pass the bedrooms of the residence levels. The anxiety of Father or Saedii awakening eases slightly as we enter the elevator, descending to the docking bays.

No one is awake this early in the morning. In two hours, it will be a very different equation. It is vital we are hidden by then.

We enter the cavernous room full of ships, one which will carry us through space to safety. The home world of all Syldrathi; Syldra. I did not think that I would return so soon. A small part of me is excited to see the lias trees once more, to appreciate the sun setting and rising over an actual horizon composed of land.

The walls are wide, carving up to a high ceiling that is painted with words of war. It is the most spacious room on the ship, but I feel as if I am suffocating.

There are few hands at work in the area, but Mother and I hide behind one of the supply crates that was delivered last morning to be safe. If I was older and stronger, I could make them irrelevant to our escape. We would not have to spend hours in the dark, waiting and praying for the dice to fall in our favour.

My mother carefully eases opens one of the crates. On an Unbroken ship, no one expects stowaways to enter or leave. Least of all the Be’shmai and son of Archon Caersan.

She lifts the top of the container and deposits our sparse amount of luggage inside. It is just as she holds the lid of the crate up so I may climb in that I hear him.

“I do not believe either of you belong in here at this hour.”

My head snaps around, barely noting my mother’s own motions. Her movements are slow and light, even now.

My fathers face is just as ice cold as his voice. His eyes are darker than I have ever seen them, clouded over with rage. The type of anger I have only seen when he hears talk of a lost battle, an unfortunate update of the Terran militaries movements, or when someone has said something that displeases him. When he is not in control, losing.

“Especially not,” he continues. “With those items.”

My father walks forward, his movements decisive and slow. The steps make no noise even though he is wearing heavy boots. He seems impossibly tall, overtaking my vision.

I reach for my mothers hand, gripping her soft palm with my calloused fingers. Her breaths are shallow and fast, as if she is an animal trapped in a cage. I feel my own breathing do the same, as if we are both the trapped prey of a hunter.

“Do not be afraid of me, Kaliis,” Father commands, lowering his hand down for me to take. An offer, a chance at forgiveness _._

Some hateful, dark part of me whispers that _‘You will be safe if you return to his side. You belong amongst these warriors. You are warbreed, Unbroken, son of the Star Slayer. Why run to a world full of pathetic cowards unless you are one yourself?’_

I back away, cringing against the container. I know it will enrage him, that I would have been spared a worse beating than the one I will receive had I accepted his hand.

The malice in his eyes leaks out to the rest of his face. It twists from haughty stone to the look of a angered predator, his lips turning into a snarl.

In his eyes, I have broken his trust, betrayed him to run away like a coward.

He will never forgive me.

Nor will he forgive Mother.

She begins to plead as he grabs me by the front of my shirt, crying out as he twists his other hand in her hair to drag us both forward.

I manage to break free of his iron grip somehow, my shirt tearing around the collar.

I feel the Enemy Within rise up as he did when Saedii destroyed my siif, and I let him. I leap at Father, kicking out at his knee as I leap upward to loose a vicious punch at his face.

He does what I want him to, releasing Mother so she stumbles to the ground. For one deliriously hopeful second, if seems as if I may win for once. That there is a chance after all.

He seems to expend no effort as he counters my attack, and I am on my back with a bright stabbing pain in my skull before I am fully aware of his movements.

I faintly hear my mother sob my name, as helpless as I am. He turns to her, my vision is too blurred to truly see what he does. 

He has hurt her for years, showing no mercy to even his life love. I have wondered many times if there is even any love left between them, if even a spark of the fire they began remains. If Father was ever truly capable of loving her and his children at all.

My mother still asks for mercy as he kicks me, my arms and legs bruising. He spares my already bleeding head, but the same cannot be said for my wrist. I feel a sharp, breaking pain from my wrist as he stomps on it, an involuntary scream ripping out of my throat.

“Caersan, STOP! Please, it’s not his fault,” Mother beseeches. “I made him come with me, he wanted to stay, please! He is your son, stop hurting him!”

Father finally decides that he has done enough. Both of us are crying, my mother pulling me into her arms. Her eye has been hit, her forehead bleeding.

“Liar. You lied to me, Laeleth. You are lying now.” The rage has finally broken through to his voice, his face still terrifying. He looks down at the bloody mess he has made of both of us, feeling no remorse.

“Do not concern yourself any further. He shall live,” he spits.

I cannot stand, barely able to tilt my head as Caersan drags my mother away.

I fell unconscious, awakening hours later in the medical bay to my sister hovering over me. She had many questions for me, many of which I could not answer.

The final memory I have of my mother is her bloodied face, the despair in her eyes as she looked from me to the man who was supposed to love and protect us both.


	2. Be Your Shadow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who is reading this after the absolute trash of the first chapter. Maybe I’ll do better. Also, please assume that everyone is talking in their native language unless I specify otherwise. Thank you and enjoy the fic!  
> Pronunciation Guide (Although you are absolutely welcome to come up with your own ways to say these names.)
> 
> Reiarin- Ray-ah-rin  
> Tailo- Tie-ah-low  
> Miaran- My-run  
> Erien- Eh-ree-uhn  
> Lei’anatara- Lay-anna-taruh

I do not like bars. I suppose I am not the type that enjoys a facility purely designed to drink yourself to the point of absolute stupidity, meet a complete stranger to engage in subpar sexual intercourse with, and cause you too wake up with a head that feels as if it has a million knives stabbed into it. Not to mention all the irresponsible shenanigans and terrible dancing involved in between all those key points.

Yet, I am here all the same. My purpose is not to “enjoy” this bar, fortunately. I am here to hunt.

* * *

_The doors slide open soundlessly, a contrast to the hard sounds of boots hitting the floor. Two of my fellow paladins walk in, the adept they were ordered to return with in between them._

_Lei’anatara is wrapped around my arm and neck, resting her head on my shoulder. Blinking her golden eyes, she studies the girl along with me. The female adept is nothing interesting. Her silver hair is done in two braids that fall to her waist, framing the sides of a blankly pretty face. Two youthful eyes are a single shade of unremarkable violet._

_“Do you know why you are here?” My sister questions from her seat at the desk, Isha balanced on her shoulder. Saedii reaches up to feed the little drakaan a bite of some meat, her movements casual yet deliberate somehow._

_The girl raises her eyes to meet my own, then my sisters. Foolishly unafraid. Secure in her belief that she has done nothing wrong. “Yes, Templar. To report on the Sagan Station,” she pauses for a moment, squaring her shoulders. “Incident.”_

_I rise from the chair opposite Saedii’s, moving to the wall behind her. “Sit down.” My sister smiles at the girl, fangs showing. The adept does as she says, perching on the edge of the seat. Her posture is impeccable._

_“Now,” Saedii begins, opening a report briefing that has already been read through, “This says that you encountered an Aurora Legion squad apparently gone rogue. You are the sole survivor. Why?” She looks up from the uniglass to the girl across from her._

_The adept studies the hands folded in her lap, seeming to be lost in her own mind. Wrapped up in the memories of the “incident” she managed to survive. Raising her head to look at the Templar across from her, she speaks._

_“We travelled to Sagan station to capture a hundred waywalkers at most. The Aurora Legion squad was there, presumably to provide aid. Waywalkers and Legion members alike were all gathered in the docking bay. We intended to shoot the Squad.” She shifts in her seat, eyes making no contact with anything but the table in front of her. “When something happened I cannot truly understand, yet alone explain.”_

_“Try your best to do so.” My sister deadpans, unimpressed. Isha agrees with a trill._

_“There was a girl with the squad. A ‘Tank’ I believe, responsible for conflict management on missions. I did not think much of her. No one in the crew did.” She pauses, seeming to consider whether she should tell the rest of the story. “She was still the biggest threat as the combat specialist, however. So another adept shot at the girl first. And she... deflected the blow. Not with any type of shield or technology that I know off. The bullet simply stopped in midair, fell to the floor.”_

_I furrow my brow, listen a little more intently._

_“Few noticed. Everyone present saw what happened next, though. Reiarin, the one who attacked her- he was lifted off his feet, thrown across the room to hit the wall. Hard. He went unconscious, but he did not fall to the ground. He appeared pinned in place, by no force I could see. The human herself, her eye seemed to turn- white. Glowing as if it was a star.”_

_Saedii turns her head to look at me. The same recollection in both our minds. An eye turned white..._

_“She raised her hands and... I was already behind a wall, in the doorway. I was spared, somehow. I suppose she did not notice me. But Reiarin was…crushed. As if he had been turned inside out, their blood painted the walls. Others tried to detain her, and they all suffered the same fate. The Tank did not even touch them. I ran back to the ship, one of the few remaining.”_

_Her hands are trembling like the leaves on trees in a gentle wind now. She is doing all she can to keep her voice steady. I can sense the terrible fear in her. The remembrance of what she lived through is evidently clear in her head._

_“And now you are here,” I say, my voice gentle. “Alive.”_

_My sisters voice is not soft. “Because you ran away. A coward. One human girl frightened you into abandoning a mission. A hundred waywalkers were within our grasp, and you failed.”_

_“This was no mere human. Nobody could have gone up against the power she was wielding and won,” the girl claims, trying to defend her actions. “If I had stayed, more Unbroken would have come to investigate and died because of the human. I made sure that did not happen by returning and reporting what happened so that we are prepared for another encounter.”_

_“Well. We are aware of this threat, now.” My sister responds. I can feel the danger approach, sense her triumphant smirk. “Do not worry. You will never have to face the human again.”_

_Saedii draws the knife she concealed against her thigh out of its holder. Quick as liquid mercury, the adept leaps up, reaching for weapons at her waist she does not have. She is fast, but not enough for my sister. Saedii’s hand is a blur of motion, her aim deadly perfect. The knife buries itself in the forehead of the girl. A choked gasp spills from the adepts mouth. Indigo blood begins to drip into eyes that widen in shock and then close in death._

_I do not move from my place at the wall. Lei’anatara does, slithering from my arm to the metal floor. I do not prevent her from moving towards the body that has fallen backwards to lie in a crumpled heap. She tastes the air, lowering her snout to sniff at the blood that forms a halo around the adepts head. The two braids are slowly turning a dark shade of orchid._

_“Remove the cowards corpse.” Saedii directs the Paladins at attention by the door._

_“I assume there was a description of this Terran in the reports?” I question, eyebrows raised slightly._

_“Of course. Kaliis,” She continues, “Contact our father. He will want to hear about this.”_

_Her face is one of excitement, the thrill of a new hunt entering her._

_I watch as they carry the body away. Reaching down to let Lei slide back around my arm, I try not to concern myself about the dark violet blood slicked across her pale scales. About the girl now being carried away. What was her name? Will anyone mourn her? At least she died without shame. She did not beg, did not scream or cry as she met her end. It was all to sudden for that._

_I walk to the door, murmuring to both my snake and sister. “I do not think this will end well.”_

* * *

I am with five other crew members, all of us dressed in black armour. My own has the typical sigils of warbreeds. Agility. Strength. Victory.

Loyalty.

It has been barely a few days since the supernatural occurrence at Sagan came to my attention. Naturally, I am assigned to the team handling it. Despite the lack of evidence, and the witness with a clearly unreliable character. Luckily, the Longbow the squad travelled in was not hard to find. An adept by the name of Tailo stalked the group from the docking bays, choosing to follow the pair with the girl in it.

Now, I duck my head underneath the doorway to the bar along with the other three members of the group. Tailo’s hair is pulled back in a harsh braid, glinting against the dark of one of the walls. Stalking our way over to her, those who see us eyes widen in fear only to be ripped away. No one wishes to attract our attention. An opportune attitude for this mission. I know Tailo only briefly. We are similar in age and skill, though she has not been raised into the Unbroken as I have been. Instead, she chose to join two years ago. Where power and war can be found, so can Tailo.

“How shall we approach, Templar?” Tailo asks Miaran, her eyes flicking over to a booth.

Across the dance and games floors filled with at least a dozen alien species, I notice what she is glancing at. I can see a human boy with blonde hair and azure blue eyes seated in the booth, facing the wall I stand against. No more than my age. He is drinking some cold beverage, leaning over to talk to the girl across from him. I can see only black hair that doesn’t quite reach the shoulders of a Legionnaire uniform, trimmed with red. The Tank, then. Our objective.

Miaran’s response is simple. “Follow me,” he commands. Without a moment to even explain what he is doing, he begins to stride over to the booth containing the legionnaires. I follow him along with my accomplices, internally sighing.

Unlike this Templar, I am capable of thinking with my brain rather than my ego. I understand that approaching a human capable of turning bodies inside out with only her mind without sharing your plan with your comrades is what should be regarded as unwise. Therefore, I would agree with anyone that dared to call Templar Miaran a blood thirsty; albeit skilled, fool. Before I am deemed one as well, disobedience to one above me in the hierarchy of the Unbroken would bring me to a similar fate as the girl Saedii executed. So I hold back in the rear, waiting for the blade to drop over our necks.

I am too far back in the gathering to hear what Miaran says next, but the facial response offered by the Alpha inclines me to believe it is not a compliment paid toward his mother. I can see Templar Miarans stance prepare for a fight, like my snake coiling up to strike.

The blond boy stands up, looking up into Miarans face. He says something that seems like it is meant to be appeasing, but the way he squares his jaw tells me that he is just as ready to come to blows as the Templar.

I see nothing of the girls reaction to all of this, but I set my weapon to Stun all the same.

The fight begins, the tension breaking out in full force. I move fast, gliding around the people in my way. A crowd starts to form around the brawl, appropriate flinching and noises emerging from the gathering in response to the injuries being inflicted. It may or may not come as I surprise to you that most sentient species enjoy the simple entertainment of watching other bipeds beat each other into pieces. Empathy is easy to throw aside when you do not know those who are being harmed.

The Alpha is against Tailo, punching and kicking with practiced ease. He is decent, well trained. I ignore him, leaving him for Tailo to deal with. My attention is drawn to the sound of glass shattering.

Miaran’s face is leaking purple blood, twisting with indignant anger. Shards of what must have been containing the girls drink are buried in his temple. I turn to the culprit, intending to knock her unconscious with any means necessary.

My eyes lock onto hers. The air leaves my lungs.

A sharp breaking in my chest, as sharp and real as the glass she used as a weapon only a moment ago.

She has the most perfectly crafted face I have ever seen, as if the spirits of the void all came together to sculpt the most beautiful being they could imagine. It is framed with ebony black hair with a pearl white streak through it that tumbles around focused yet wild eyes.

Her eyes are mismatched. The deepest rings of every shade of brown, honey and earth and gold make a mosaic of one. The other is crafted from starlight, almost luminous in the coloured lights of the bar. Her skin is light brown, patterned with constellations of freckles across her cheekbones. Her lips are bow shaped, parted as she turns to look at me.

She is wondrous, her movements rapid and purposeful.

She moves like a song, playing a melody with her legs and a beat with her breathing.

She is perfection.

She is firing a disruptor rifle at me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, kudos and comments are my cocaine so please add some if you enjoyed reading this.


	3. Which Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed the chapter titles don't really make much sense. They're song titles, the vibe or lyrics of the song fit the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kal is screwed, basically. Be prepared for a slightly sexy dream, some banter with a sibling, and a whole load of angst. Not necessarily in that order.

I awaken how I usually do. Safe in my chambers aboard the Andareal. I am in my bed, the same dark blue sheets and pillows. My snake dozes in her terrarium, the dim lights from the window looking out upon the stars reflecting off of her scales. It is too still and colourful to be the Fold.

What is different is the pain in my chest and head.

Groaning, I lift myself up to walk towards my bathroom. Running my fingers across my forehead, I wince at the dull ache in my skull. Looking in the mirror, I see that I have no shirt on and medical wraps instead. There is a blue bruise on the right of my chest. Though it is tender to the touch, that is the worst of it- I have no broken bones.

Examining the wound that is obviously from a disruptor rifle, I begin to remember the events that lead to its creation.

Sempiternity.

The bar brawl.

The girl.

_Spirits of the void, the girl..._

Before I can even begin to wonder how it is possible a human is my beloved, or what to do about it, my door opens.

Saedii glides in, no Isha on her shoulder. I blink and grimace at the sudden brightness as she flicks on my lights. With a quick glance to my clock, I note that it is late at night. Although, it is apparently not late enough for my sister to decide she needs to have a conversation with me.

“What the _fuck_ , Kaliis?” Her face is the perfect mix of annoyance, concern, and judgement. I am not all that surprised at its presence.

“Why are you angry at me? I am the one with a gunshot wound, not you.” I reply, my eyebrows knitting in bemusement.

“Do not be so dramatic,” My sister criticizes, pulling her hair back over her shoulder. “You got shot with a disruptor set to Incapacitate. By a tiny human girl, nonetheless.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“You are pathetic.”

“Thank you.”

“This is why you are still a Paladin.”

“I am sure it is that,” I retort, walking over to the pen across the room. “My age has absolutely no effect on my status.”

“Do not forget your lack of basic survival instincts such as _‘duck down when someone fires a gun at you.’ “_

“Oh, so I did get shot with a gun?” Lei’anatara stares at me as I lift up the top of her cage.

I use the term ‘cage,’ but it is more of a cross between an ecosystem and a bedroom. Over the course of our two years together, I have done my best to make it a home for her.

The comfortably large pen itself is fitted with a system that maintains the perfect humidity and temperature, set to change slightly at night and day times to help Lei sleep. There are many different plants and flowers, all carefully selected and cultivated. There are even smooth crystals representing health and comfort nestled amongst the dirt and leaves of her miniature forests floor.

Some could say that she is a spoiled snake.

I look over my shoulder to glare at my sister.

“You woke Lei’anatara with your unnecessary comments. So not only are you irritating me, you are irritating an animal that could kill you with her venom.”

Saedii throws herself with an uncharacteristic lack of grace into my chair.

“She would have to bite me several times to do that. If she managed to get that close without me killing her in the first place.”

“It is too late at night for you to be bothering me for no reason. I assume that there is something I should know?” I sigh, settling back onto my bed with Lei in my arms.

“There is much you should know, little Lissie.” Saedii smirks, propping her feet up onto my desk.

“As you have made clear many times,” I respond, petting the crest that crowns Lei’s head. “What was the result of the fight?”

“You are lucky that no one was killed, although many are injured. What were you thinking? I warned you that the girl presented a substantial threat.” Saedii berates me, lips pulled back.

“I know that, dear sister. I was not the one who decided to begin a fight with a girl that appears to be in possession of the same powers as Archon Caersan,” I say with a voice that is subzero, deepened in anger. “I could kill Miaran, and the fool who named him a Templar.”

“Good luck with either of those tasks. Our darling Templar Miaran is currently being digested by the drakaan, and the “fool” who named him Templar also named me one.”

“...What has Father said in regards to this?” I murmur, trying to keep my mind clear.

“That I have full control over this mission now,” Saedii’s face forms a small smile that doubles as a grimace, “And that you are to assist me.”

I turn my face away from hers, looking into my snakes steady golden eyes instead. Focusing on the conical golden lines framing slit pupils, trying not to think of luminous white and ringed layers of brown.

“Do me a favour and consider your next actions through carefully. We know little of their intentions, or true capabilities.”

Saediis eyes turn to my bruised chest, no doubt thinking of who made it so. Of what she will do to make sure no one else meets the worse fate that those on Sagan Station suffered.

“I will talk to you about the logistics of this soon. There does not appear to be much time to waste.”

Without further ado, Saedii rises from the chair to return to her own chambers. The dim red lights of the hallway glimmer in my room for a lingering moment before the doors close, reminding me of what such night time lights always do.

_“Well, now I know that this will definitely not end well.”_

* * *

_I do not know how we got into this position. How I am here with her. All I know is that I am, and that I do not have to hold myself back._

_She is underneath me, tousled ebony with pearl hair and wide eyes. Breathless as she gazes up at me, onyx and diamond eyes bottomless and filled with adoration. Her lips are damp and slightly apart, a tiny drop of ruby red on the swell of her lower lip._

_My body presses hers harder into the bed, even as my mouth meets hers in a kiss softer than silk. Gentle as I am, I can still taste the coppery, sharp tang of her blood in my mouth._

_I savour the feeling of heat it sends through me as our bodies slowly slide against one another, every movement deep and lingering. Her fingers bury themselves in my hair, arms wrapped around my back. Our lips meet again and again, drawn out, deep and passionate._

_The taste of her in my mouth, the feeling of her chest pressed against mine, her legs wrapped around my waist; it is all intoxicating, a drug surging through my body and mind._

_I kiss my way down to her neck, running my hands over the perfect curves of her waist and hips. She tastes, sounds, moves, feels like divinity._

_Arching her back, her legs wrap tighter around me as she breathlessly whispers my name and sighs -_

_“Lei’tira...”_

I awaken, panting slightly as I ease myself upright. Alone in my chambers, apart from my snake. Lei is still dozing in her pen, oblivious to my plight.

I groan and run my hands through my braided hair, realizing what the dream was about. Who it was about.

A traitorous, carnal part of myself wants to return to the dream. To fall back into the impossible fantasy that almost felt real. Yet as I flip over from my stomach to stare at my ceiling, the illusion already begins to fade. Twisting the bedsheets with clawed hands, I attempt to think of other things.

There will be a discussion with Saedii and the dozen or so other Unbroken to decide on a course of action regarding the rogue Squad 312. I know that my sister will wish to begin to hunt soon, and that I will advise against it. That I will do my best to buy her more time.

Part of me feels foolish for even doing so. I have no idea how this song will continue, what part I play in all the instruments. How the band will play out this ballad between us.

I know not what Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley is trying to accomplish. I have been able only to learn the barest facts of her identity, the history of her life on Earth and Aurora Academy. On Sempiternity, I had only moments to learn her face, to feel the bond snap into place and break something inside me that I alone can never repair.

I do know what I am risking for even feeling what I do. The Pull belongs amongst the Syldrathi, and to sully it even involuntarily by having a human be my beloved is worthy of death. The Unbroken will show me no mercy if I am discovered, not even my sister. Despite my despair, I tilt my head to watch the star system swirling outside my window. I send a silent prayer to The Void and the benevolent spirits within it to keep her safe on her journey. That she is well, that we will meet again.

_‘And what then, Kaliis? You are all the people of Earth, of most of the galaxy, despise. Warbreed, a Paladin of the Unbroken, Ina’sainuit.'_

_‘Fool.’_

I sigh aloud, turning over to stare at the starless sky of my ceiling yet again.

_Lei’tira._

_I love you_.

That is what she told me in my dream. A word, a promise, an intimacy she does not know and cannot be expected to feel. The thought of it sends a wave of longing through me, heavy and tense in my muscles. An ache that has set in and simply refuses to leave.

A dream. Only a projection of my subconscious. Nothing more. There is no reason to hope for it to ever be more.

I whisper to the darkness of my room, my voice rasping slightly. “Aurora...”

The slight shuffling of Lei’anatara’s scales from across the room draws my attention away for a blissful moment. She is awake now, uncoiling to blink up at me in the darkness.

Feeling a little sting of guilt, I rise from my bed. She should not be disturbed from her sleep because I happen to be unable to control my own mind.

I turn the lights on, keeping them on their dimmest setting so as not to startle Lei. Ambling over to her, I gently raise the curved window that forms the top of her den. Lei’anatara slides onto my arm from her favourite branch, a stick covered in a type of soft, bioluminescent moss that only grows on Trask. Wrapping herself halfway up my arm, she nestles her head into the crook of my elbow. Bringing my other arm up to support the rest of her body, I return to sit on the edge of my bed.

Slowly running my hand over the small silver ridges of her back, I stare out the window once more into nothing. Seeming to wonder why I am petting her at two in the morning, Lei raises her head up to gaze at me with wide golden eyes.

“Sorry, little love. I do not know why the Pull insists on torturing me either,” I gently murmur to her, raising my arm up so that she is level with my eyes.

“I am doing what is right, am I not?”

_What my Mother would be proud of me for doing, if she lived?_

She gives me a look that others would see as nothing but the empty gaze of a bored predator. I see empathy instead. An understanding, rare even amongst sentient beings.

_“What a mess we are in, Lei...”_

* * *

Saedii strides into the council room, fashionably late.

You would be surprised how often my sister makes people wait. Though she is naturally punctual, it is one of her tactics that remind people of their place below her. That they must wait for her to arrive first.

The others in the room all come to attention as Saedii takes her seat, all looking far too eager for my taste. It is not often that such an opportunity to gain influence and power within The Unbroken presents itself, I suppose. Though it is also not often that such an opportunity to die in a horrific way presents itself.

_‘Horrific and honourable are interchangeable under such circumstances…’_

Her drakaan looks around my room with wide golden eyes, finding my own and gifting me with a screech of approval as she flaps down from Saedii’s shoulder to the table. She makes her way over to me as Lei’anatara slides away from where she was curled up in my lap. Isha sniffs the snake, decides that the long, shiny, and silver thing is without a doubt a snake, and go’s back to Saedii’s lap with a trill so that she is also aware.

A small smile spreads over Saedii's lips, her eyes flicking into the phase of seeing she uses when hunting.

“Now,” my sister wonders, turning the screen hovering in front of her to an image of a solar system. “Shall we begin?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> (plz leave a kudos... plz... leave a kudos... I am staarrrvvviing for some type of approval or appreciation rn.)


	4. Howl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Be prepared for the ultimate simp named Kal to do some simping. Kidnapping is an expression of love, and implying murder is normal too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the wait. School started up again and we all know how mentally, physically, and emotionally draining it gets. This is basically a transition chapter to what I want to write so I'll probably update sooner next time.

Emerald City is an auspicious name for such an utterly average place.

You would be surprised how many of these types of places I frequent with the Unbroken. Plenty of Syldrathi hide like dust in floorboards in these inter special cities.

If there are hidden Syldrathi in this city, they will be safe from us for now. They are not the ones we hunt today.

The docking bays are bustling with crew and their cargo of all kinds, a current of urgent energy propelling them through their tasks. They are a full sol behind schedule, thanks to the inexplicable events surrounding Squad 312.

“Look over to the cargo freighter with the red stripes,” Saedii murmurs into our communications channel.

The ship is nothing interesting, so I look to the people loitering beside it. A group of workers are dressed in overalls and caps, the same garb worn by most of the occupants of this bay.

Of course, they are not workers at all. Squad 312 makes their way over to a docking space further to the back, out of the main arrivals and leavings of ships way. I suppose they are acquiring a new ship, due to their last one's current state of being destroyed. 

It was that curious event, of two humans being chased down by a pack of gremps only for a huge explosion to destroy their getaway ship that caught our attention. Saedii immediately ordered that I join her crew to attempt another capture of the girl.

But the ship they are stopping in front of is an incredibly strange solution to their conundrum. 

I am aware off how ugly most Terran ships are in their practicality, but this vessel does not even offer practical. It is merely ugly, rusted, barely even usable by the looks of it.

I am further surprised by the door into actually opening, even more so by the excited face off the squads Betraskan 'gearhead' ducking out to wave to the other members of the Squad.

They all shuffle, seemingly perplexed, and begin to board.

That is signal enough to Saedii.

Aurora is about to board the ship, an odd expression of curious hope on her face, when Saediis command is given.

“Surround them. None of them leave this station out of our custody.”

My black armour was barely noticeable amongst the shadows cast by docked ships, but it strikes a fearsome contrast within the crowd I cut through. The crews that occupy the port hastily remove themselves from my path. A similar reaction occurs as adepts surge forward at my sisters command. A rough circle of Unbroken surrounds the squad, a wall of black armour and cruel gazes blocking all exits.

I am close enough to hear Saedii’s voice, low and dangerous as she addresses the squad in Terran.

“Come quietly, and no harm will come to any of you. If you make a scene, it will.”

A shame that politely phrasing their capture will not change the outcome. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that this group will not be compliant.

“Everybody get down,” I hear Aurora whisper as she raises her hands.

Before she can act, I raise my dart gun.

It hits exactly where I aim, close to her heart. The needle penetrates her thin clothing, its venom entering her system in the blink of an eye.

The Unbroken react with predictable speed and strength, apprehending the struggling legionnaires. Panic emerges in their eyes as I stride forward, breezing past them to her.

Aurora’s eyes roll back into her head as sleep overtakes her, falling forward right into my arms.

Saedii’s eyes meet my own as I stride past her, sharp and dangerous. The workers around me do nothing to stop me entering the compact ship, do nothing to prevent the other seemingly innocent souls from being dragged to another.

  
She is my Be’shmai, precious beyond all description. Yet I am carrying her into the worst kind of danger I know. Saedii will show no mercy to her friends, my father even less to this potential rival.

Her resourceful and loyal friends are now in restraints. Security has not arrived to halt this fiasco, and the crowd is full of bystanders too afraid to even think of helping them. Aurora herself is unconscious. She is utterly without defence.

Except for me.

* * *

All is black and white around me, so I must imagine the colour of her blood.

It is only the slightest amount, barely enough to make the droplets soaking through her shirt. I carefully lower her from my arms to the medical table, shooing away the man who comes to assist me.

“It will be fine,” I reassure him. “This is minor. Nobody else knows poisons like I do, anyhow.”

I ignore the medics vague unease, grabbing some bandages from a drawer instead. Peeling down the collar of her shirt, I remove the dart.

It is sleek, as small as a bullet. The minuscule compartment within it has been emptied of Lei’anataras venom, a hollow clink sounding as I deposit it back into my case.

Trying to focus on the simple task, I wipe away the blood. There is no point in trying to draw out any of the venom. Gentle as I can, I cover the wound with an adhesive bandage instead.

Perhaps I am providing too much care to my ‘prisoner,’ but it is the least I can do for her. The other Unbroken occupy other rooms, busying themselves with flight and tasks assigned by their Templar. Nobody has noticed how I hover over her, wondering.

“ _Why have you sown such chaos?"_ I ruminate. “ _What are you hoping to accomplish, Be’shmai?"_

“ _What am I hoping to accomplish?_ ”

Her face is calm as I have ever seen it, the dreamless sleep caused by this poison evident in her features. She looks as if she requires it. Bruised and battered, I hope this gives her time to heal.

All the same, she is beautiful as-

“It appears that we have a problem, Kaliis.”

I curse myself for not noting her presence sooner.

Saedii grazes her fingers over the doors controls, making them slide closed behind her.

She meets my eyes, a strange mix of contempt and resignation in her own. Looking away, her eyes flit over Aurora. Seeming unable to find what she is searching for, Saedii turns back to me.

“What have you been thinking?” She begins, her voice a whisper. “I had hoped this was a temporary infatuation. I see now that it is not.”

“How so? What suggests this is anything but a ‘temporary infatuation?’”

Even as I say it, I know that it is useless.  
“Your eyes talk, and they have nothing on what your mind goes on about. I used to know you, brother. You used to trust me.”

She seems oddly hurt, thinly masked by an angry tone in her whisper.

“With this?” I shake my head, returning my gaze to Aurora once more. Her closed eyes, blissfully unaware, are much easier to look at than my sisters.

“With anything. Especially when I can help you.”

“Help? This is hopeless.”

“Victory can be found in the most dire battles with the right mind to navigate it.”

Saedii moves to my side, shifting so that I must look at her.

“Well, what do you suggest?”

“We are warriors, brother. Act like one, not a lovesick fool. Prove your worth. Prove that your loyalty to our cause is more important to you than some human girl.”

Saedii waits a moment, even her fanatical mind pausing to consider the weight of her next words.

“Kill her.”

My response is instant, the enemy within me rearing up in fury.

“ _No_.” My voice is a defiant hiss, my teeth bared, my hands in fists.

“You must, Kaliis. Or another will. At least you can choose how she dies this way.”

I calm myself before I speak. She is my sister, only suggesting what she thinks must be done. As deranged as it is, she only wants to help.

Yet she does not understand. So I do my best to make her.

“Perhaps you are correct. It is mad to feel as I do for this human. Yet I have no more control than anybody else does when it comes to The Pull.”

“You do have a choice-“  
“Let me make this as clear as I possibly can. No one touches her. I do not care about my status, my ‘loyalties’, my heritage.” I hiss, hands gripping the edge of the table. “I will tear every damned Unbroken limb from limb, tear myself into a thousand pieces, tear the stars from the very sky, before she comes to harm.”

Saedii stares at me for the longest time.

I do not need the gift to know what she is thinking. All of our memorable lives, we have known one another. We grew up together. Played together, learned together, fought against and for one another.

So she knows me enough to know…

“You mean it,” she murmurs.

“Every word.”

_“We will return to the docking bays within the hour, Templar.”_

Eriens message comes in over the intercom, breaking the silence.

Saedii turns to leave with a final glare over her shoulder.

“You chose this. Do not blame me when the inevitable happens.”

I wait in the room while the ship sails through the Fold, an abyss waiting just beyond the thin walls. Aurora slumbers on, the venom soaking into her body.

Although I tried not to, I could not help but learn about her. There is much more than just her status in the Aurora Legion squad to find out.

She was accepted into the academy not just for her grades, but for her talents of running and climbing. Though she lived all across Earth, even some nearby colonies, she was never dissuaded from her training. She won several competitions in both, proving her fitness and ability to excel at what she wants.

When she arrived at the academy, her life was strangely normal. Indistinguishable from any other cadets.

Except for when she was collected for shore leave by a private ship named Astraeus; a vessel from the company her parents work for.  
She never returned to Earth. Astraeus went missing in the Fold, the passengers aboard vanishing along with it for seven months. Until a daring rescue took place on the night before the Draft.

_“How much she has endured…”_

For the first time, I let myself truly look at her. Even after I traced her origins, found out her identity; I never allowed myself to pause on the features of her face.

I do so know, my eyes pouring over her. Thick, feathery black eyelashes flutter in sleep as her head moves to to the side. Silky strands of charcoal hair fall away from her perfect almond skin at the same time, showing the perfect line of her jaw. The freckles across her cheekbones are unfamiliar constellations, faint and perfect.

I feel the inexplicable urge to kiss across them, too slowly travel to her blush coloured lips. They appear smooth, warm, and soft as dusk.

For a fraction of a second, I reach for her. My hands move off their own accord, fingertips extending to brush over her face…

The problem is that I want her to kiss me back.

I hurriedly draw them away, contempt for myself slowly rising. Making the briefest of checks, I leave the room.

The doors slide close as I steal a final glance at her over my shoulder. Part of me tosses and turns at leaving, writhing with longing.

It will not be Saedii I blame when everything goes wrong. Chaos follows in this girls wake, and I am a fool to have let myself get caught up in the tide. Who knows if I am the only one she will drown. It is a strange sort of stupidity, to know that I am breathing in water whilst refusing to fight for air, only wanting more.

Inevitable. This has always been inevitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading fellas. hope you enjoyed


	5. Walls Could Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something close to an interrogation scene happens here. Tension is rising like cupcakes with too much baking soda in the oven.  
> WARNING: I do include a bit where Kal holds Auri down, overpowering her. I recognize that the incident on its own may be upsetting for some people to read, even within context. So please precede with caution if you're not comfortable with that.

This is a weirdly nice bedroom.

It’s weird that I’m in a bedroom, considering my circumstances.

As I blink up at the ceiling, I try to remember what led me here past the exhaustion in my whole body. The Longbow. The ship with 'Zero' stencilled on its rusted side. The Unbroken. The rest of my friends.

I don’t like being in a strange room, with only half of my memory telling me why the hells I’m here in the first place. It’s too similar to a couple of weeks ago, waking up to the white lights of the recovery room in the academy, only to find out that I’m the sole survivor from a freak fold accident.

I remember the bright flashing, the sudden shriek of alarms, the utter confusion and panic from the crew. Reaching for Callie’s hand as the ship jolted to a halt, the lights going out. The last thing I recall is the horrible silence, my mother and sister along with the rest of the crew completely still in the darkness. The strange whispering building up as I fought against the inexplicable force dragging me into a deep sleep. One I didn’t wake up from for seven months.

There are a couple of differences between how I woke up in Aurora Legion recovery, and where ever I am now. The surface below me is soft and comfortable, simple blue sheets in a simple, large bed. The one I woke up in at recovery was small and stiff as hells, and had the vague smell of sanitizer all over it. This room smells like it’s lived in: laundry detergent, some sweet-smelling herb I don’t recognize, and a hint of… soil?

As I slowly lean up in the bed to get a proper look at the room, I realize that my hands are bound by mag-restraints. _Son of a biscuit._ I guess the Unbroken really did manage to take me prisoner. I have no idea how they did. All I can remember is raising my hands to defend my squad, and then… the tiniest prick on my chest. I try to look at my chest where I think I must have been shot, but I can’t move my shirt with the restraints on.

So I return my gaze back to the room. It’s clean, but it’s clearly not a guest room. Do the Unbroken have guest rooms? I seriously doubt it. It’s painted a soft off-white, light in comparison to the dark window that looks out on a galaxy of stars. The colour present tells me that we’re in outer space, but not The Fold. There are small souvenirs on a few shelves, a white set off wooden drawers in the corner. There’s a disruptor rifle lying on it, thank the Maker. If I am where I think I am, that could be very useful. I can’t see any holo-photos on the wall, or that much spare stuff. The whole place is orderly, someones well-kept space.

I should probably mention the cage in the corner. It’s about as long as I am, and I can see an impressive looking mini-ecosystem growing beyond the glass borders. I don’t know what animal is being kept in it exactly, but my money is on some type of reptile or insects due to the jungle like look of the plants. I realize I should be concerned over the lack of movement in the tank.

_Where is whatever it’s meant to hold?_

As if to answer my question, the faint sliver of scales sounds out next to me.

Turning my head as slowly as I can, I look to my right. I’m greeted by the delicate, snub snout of a silver snake.

Its eyes are comparatively large in its face, lines of gold leading to slit pupils. There is a strong, intricate crest of what looks like some type of natural bone growth crowning its head. The growth turns into a short silver fan, somewhat like what a water-snake or eel would have, leading down the long muscle of body that’s carefully wrapped up in a pile on the bed. It looks like it might be half my height stretched out.

I try not to make any noise, barely stifling a yelp as it brings its head closer. A dainty, forked pink tongue darts out of its mouth, tasting the air I’m breathing. It tilts its head as it stares at me, coming closer with every shallow breath I take. I don’t dare to move, convinced that it wants to eat me.

 _“Could I use the weight of the mag-restraints to beat it away?”_ I think in a panic, trying to decide what the—

“Do not worry about her. Lei’anatara does not have an appetite for human girls, fortunately.” A voice like silk and melted chocolate purrs from behind me.

I don’t dare to turn around again. Not until the snake snaps its head away from me, sensing the someone who must occupy this bedroom.

It actually seems sort of happy that he’s here, its head peaking up to look at him. I shudder, eyes wide, unable to breathe as it slides over me, making its way to the other side of the bed. It’s a bit lighter than I thought it would be, but that doesn’t put me at ease in the slightest. 

“I told you to keep watch,” the smooth voice murmurs behind me. “Not to scare her.”

A faint hiss accompanies a small tinkling of scales as I feel the weight of the snake leave the bed. After a moment that feels like a million, I finally turn to look at my captor.

And _Holy Maker of all Creation_.

I thought I knew what Hot looks like. The Aurora Legion is full of fit, good-looking guys. I’ve gone out with a couple. I still occasionally get ads on my uni with picture perfect male models. My imagination isn’t lacking when it comes to attractive boys, and I work in a Squad run by Tyler Jones, for crying out loud.

But this guy gives a new meaning to the word _gorgeous_.

He’s Syldrathi, obviously. Silver hair that looks like liquid mercury decided to turn into fine strands spills in seven braids over black armour. Lavender eyes that glow ethereally, studying me like I’m a confusing piece of art from some unfamiliar alien civilization. Olive skin that looks like it absorbed some suns light, smooth enough to be inhuman. His ears aren’t the only pieces of him that end in delicate points. Every part of him looks like an intricate carving, muscular lines and perfect curves in all the right places. Those cheekbones could _kill_.

“ _Just like he could kill you, or worse, right now,_ ” I hiss at myself mentally. “ _Get it together, Auri_.”

“I apologize if she frightened you,” He talks again in perfect Terran, tucking the snake in his arms to his chest. “She is venomous, but it only paralyzes you. She only attacks in the first place if you aggravate her. Or if she is hungry.”

I remember what Scarlett told me after that bar brawl. _“Warbreed usually don’t pick easy prey. Or what they think is easy. They like worthy opponents, a good fight to prove they’re worth in. Funny that they went after you…”_

I might be carrying almost limitless, incredibly destructive power inside of me. I might have spent years training in fighting at Aurora Academy. I know how to withstand it, but I don’t want to be tortured. With everything that’s been going on, it would probably break me. If he thinks I’m easy, that I’ll just give him wants… I don’t want to know what’ll happen.

If I can get him to respect me, to believe that I’m as unbreakable and fearless as he is…

“Believe me, jackass, that snake is the least of my concerns right now,” I snap back at him, trying to sound braver than I feel. “I have better things to do than be some warbreeds plaything. Speaking of, why the hells did you decide it would be a good idea to kidnap me?”

He stares at me for a moment. Then, a small smile spreads over his face. “Is that what you think this is? I got bored, so I decided to take a human and all her friends to entertain myself with?”

_“It does seem like a lot of effort just to… what?”_

“Well, what is this then?” I straighten up in the bed, sitting on the edge. “If not that? It does seem like your little banding of maniacs is lacking in stuff to do these days, other than destroying your home planet and murdering hundreds of innocent people. Why not taking Terrans that have absolutely nothing do with you prisoner?”

The smile falls from his face, turning it to stone. “Be careful what you say to me next. Do not misunderstand me,” he murmurs, stalking closer to me. “I like your audacity. However, you might want to silence your accusations to listen to what I have to say.”

He’s hovering over me now, his snake extending her head out to examine me along with him.

“You kidnapped me because you wanna talk,” I deadpan, “Ever heard of calling, or comm messages?”

“This is not the type of conversation that is safe to have using such messaging systems.” I stand up, forcing him to take a step back.

Tilting my head to face him, I raise the mag-restraints ever so slightly.

I could just attack him now. Throw my hands up, take him out with a good hit to his chin. Still, I don’t know how quickly that snake can strike, and I don’t doubt that it can. He mentioned that she’s venomous. They’re hard to see, but she definitely has fangs. Not to mention that he’s six feet and a half, built out of pure, lean muscle. All warbreeds are deadly, trained from birth to kill. This guys Unbroken, and the whole galaxy knows just how many inhibitions they have about killing.

Also… I’m curious. About what he has to say, what he wants, and… there’s something different about him than all the bloodthirsty soldiers that surrounded my squad and I earlier. I can’t tell exactly, but my powers telling me that he isn’t that big of a threat for some reason. I want to tap into it, too look further. But I don't know how much time I have, what could happen if I let even the tiniest amount of this roiling storm in my out. 

“Well,” I say, tilting my head slightly. “I’m here now. So talk.”

He turns away. “ _You’re taking your time_ ,” I scoff in my head as he walks over to the opposite wall. He puts his pet back in her cage, closes the lid as she wraps around a stick. I walk toward him before he can come back to me.

“There was a strange happenstance at a station called Sagan a little while back. It caught my sisters and I’s attention. Do you remember?” He asks.

 _My sister_. That has to be the woman who accosted us at the Opha May. On closer inspection, I can see the resemblance in their face shapes, their eyes, the shape of their cheekbones.

That has me thinking of Callie, how alike we looked. How she’s probably been incinerated by now, her ashes scattered in the rose garden that grew behind her music academy. My mother might be with her, or she might be scattered somewhere else. 

It makes me remember what the Ra’haam did to my father, what the Eshvaren have done to me. Everything I’ve lost.

“Yeah. I remember.” It’s impossible to forget what I did to those people. Did he know them? Is that why I’m here?

“You apparently crushed several of our adepts. In self-defence, I assume?”

“I didn’t actively seek violent murderers to violently murder them, no.”

A fraction of his smile returns at that. 

_Weird._

“Good. Do you know how you did that?”

_Now we’re getting to the point._

_“_ Barely. You’d think I’m crazy if I told you. I also don't think you deserve to hear a word out of me, anyway.” I quickly add.

“Would you think I am crazy,” he says softly, making eye contact with me, “If I told you that you appear to possess powers I have seen in another?”

“No. I wouldn’t,” I rush despite myself, eager for more information. At least he seems like he has answers, even if he's insane and possibly homicidal. “Who?”

_“Is it you? Please don’t let it be you.”_

He pauses. “Have you ever wondered how Archon Caersan murdered Evaa, the ten billion Syldrathi that returned to the Void with her?”

I gasp.

“ _No way. There’s no way_.” is the only vaguely cohesive thought that I can pull together as I just stand here, trying to process that. How well it all fits.

“ _Triggers are obviously meant to destroy the Ra’haam,_ ” I think in a rush, my thoughts like an avalanche. _”A powerful one would sure as hells be able to destroy a sun. Is that what the Starslayer is? But…”_

“Why? Why would he want to do that?” I whisper. It’s a question that’s haunted the whole galaxy, trying to find some sort of why as well as the how.

I don’t think I imagine the pain that fills his eyes. His voice is soft, but filled with bitterness when he speaks to me. “He is a killer at heart, Aurora. He possesses no mercy, no empathy, no ability to love anything but violence. I do not know why the universe saw fit to bestow such capacity to cause as much suffering as he has, to send so many innocent souls to the Void because they did not bow to his will.”

_What if he does it again?_

“There are tons of people in the galaxy he hates. Why hasn’t he done anything to them?” My voice is getting thinner, more panicked. It’s all so much to take in. The stakes are getting so high, and if I’m right about my role in this, it could all end up coming down to what I do. One tiny human girl, against what’s looking like a gigantic parasite and infinitely powerful maniac.

“It drains him. Have you noticed that?” He responds. “Whenever you use this power you have?”

“Sort of. I leave my body, pass out when whatever I’m meant to do is done, and I barely remember what I did after I wake up.”

“I am not overly familiar with him, or if he experiences the same things that you are describing,” He shifts to look out the window. The stars are reflected in his eyes, white and gold against purple and black. “I do know that he went through something worse than that when he attacked my home planet.”

I can sense that he’s holding something back. I almost ask him what it is, when a transmission comes in from his uniglass.

“ _You better have a hold of that girl, Kaliis._ ” A cold, lovely voice sounds out over the comms channel. “ _Some GIA bastards want us to hand her and the other humans over. They have decided to attack us,_ ” A sudden jolt to the ship makes the ground wobble the tiniest amount beneath my feet, like it’s agreeing with her. “ _Keep her with you. Leave the Andareal if you must._ ”

I become very aware of where I am again, who I’m with. If I thought I saw any vulnerability in this guy- Kaliis- before, it’s gone now. A cold mask of ice freezes over his features again as he reaches to his pointed ear, pressing on the button of a comm piece attached to it.

“Do not concern yourself with her security.” He looks me up and down, calculating and unfeeling once more. “I will keep her with me.”

He reaches for me. I lunge up at him, trying to slam the mag-restraints still around my wrists into the side of his head.

Unfortunately, Kaliis is fast. He grabs my arms in midair, pushes them back down. He marches me backwards, graceful and strong. I can hear an alarm begin somewhere in the distance, hurried feet and alarms sounding outside the door.

I yell, kicking out and thrashing as he pins me to the bed. He has a hold of the restraints with one hand, the other one almost lax as his forearm presses my legs down. He’s practically on top of me, holding me to the bed with what seems like no effort. His face comes way too close to mine, leaning down to my ear.

“Stop fighting me and listen,” He whispers, deadly calm. “I can get you off this ship. I know that you have no reason to trust me in the slightest, but I want you and your friends to escape.”

“You’re damn right I don’t trust you,” I hiss into his face. “Why would you want to help me?”

He searches my face, no trace of anger in his eyes. “Because you might be able to avenge those who have fallen to him.”

“ _Half truth,_ ” my mind whispers.

We both stay still for a long moment, saying absolutely nothing. Kaliis stares down at me, his body hovering inches over mine. It’s a compromising position, but neither of us have the time to think about that now.

I have a choice here. I can smash my forehead against his nose right now, fight him off as best I can, find my way out of the room. I could use my powers to get past or fight as many Unbroken as I can to search for my friends. I honestly want to do that, but I have no idea where they are or how to find them. I also don’t want to risk getting taken captive again by the GIA. At least Kaliis knows the ship. I know he could be lying just to make transporting me easier, but he obviously doesn’t struggle with getting me under control. Why would he need to? He’s offering me a chance to get out, at least.

_But my friends…_

“I’ll go with you,” I lean up, bringing my face as close as I dare. I don’t think I imagine the small gasp he makes. “But only if my friends come with us.”

He pulls away. His perfect lips are parted ever so slightly as he glances from me to the noise outside.

"They are supposed to be in the holding cells, but that is hopefully not where they are."

"Where else would they be, exactly?" I ask, leaning up. "And get off me."

He concedes, his eyes almost guiltily darting away from mine. "If they are as intelligent as their training suggests, they are finding their own way of this ship. If you come with me, there will be no resistance from the Unbroken in our escape." 

"How are they going to do that if they're in the holding cells?" I ask, frustrated now.

"With several unlocked doors and one of their own presumably crawling about in the air vents. Do not concern yourself with them, we have more pressing concerns."

I stand there in utter bafflement for a few precious seconds before another jolt racks the ship. Kaliis strides over to the tank. The poor reptile in it is writhing, scared out of its little mind. I’m not even that shocked to see Kaliis cuddle it to his chest, muttering it soothing words in Syldrathi. 

“You’re taking your pet? Seriously?” I almost yell at him. It’s kind of necessary, with the sirens.

“Would you rather I leave her to die?” He’s infuriatingly cool even when he’s loud, grabbing the disruptor rifle from the drawers and something else as he walks back over to me. I almost back away before I realize he’s holding the keys to the mag-restraints.

They fall to the floor, leaving my wrists feeling weirdly light. I know how big of a symbol this is, the level of trust he’s placing in me, but I've got bigger things to worry about.

The doors whisper open in front of me with the lightest touch to the control panel. Before I can go any further, he grabs my shoulder.

“You cannot go running around at there on your own. They will have assumed you have escaped, and shoot you down. They may shoot me as well if they figure out that I am helping you,” he rushes over his words, setting Lei’anatara down on a desk even as the world shakes around us.

“Well, what the hells would you suggest,” I snap, making an exasperated gesture with my recently unbound hands.

Before I can react, he swoops me up into his arms, carrying me like I weigh nothing. Walking over to his snake once more, he lowers me down slightly. I’ll admit I’m a bit surprised when the snake slides off the table into my lap. It’s better trained than it looks, apparently.

Kaliis makes his way to the doors as she wraps partially around my wrists, gathering herself into a secure pile on my stomach. He offers me a grin, chaos lighting up in his eyes.

“Play dead, Be’shmai.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know your thoughts, I accept criticism as well as compliments. Next chapter should be up soon.


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